Infrared (IR) focal plane array (FPA) technology is improving rapidly and significantly. Systems utilizing IR FPA technology are becoming more sensitive to incident IR radiation and are therefore also becoming more sensitive to particulate contamination within a detector assembly. For example, individual particles on the order of only a few microns in size could produce video artifacts that affect a system's ability to acquire or track a target of interest. Current particle screen tests at the detector assembly level have poor sensitivity compared to sensor level tests and therefore often miss the presence of harmful particles, which can necessitate expensive and risky rework of detector assemblies.